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Bruce Grey Child & Family Services foundation merging with United Way of Bruce Grey

Representatives of the United Way of Bruce Grey, Bruce Grey Child & Family Services and the BGCFS Foundation announced Tuesday that the foundation is merging with the local United Way.
Attending the announcement, from left to right, are: Francesca Dobbyn, executive director of the United Way of Bruce Grey; Nick Lovell, chair of the United Way board; Tim Nicol, chair of the foundation board; Selwyn Hicks, chair of the BGCFS board; and Phyllis Lovell, chief executive officer of BGCFS. DENIS LANGLOIS/THE SUN TIMES

That's according to the officials who announced at a press conference Tuesday that the fundraising arm of Bruce Grey Child & Family Services, commonly known as the Our Kids Bruce Grey Foundation, will be merging with the United Way of Bruce Grey.

Tim Nicol, chair of the Our Kids board, said the merger will ensure that more of peoples' donations will actually go to helping the most vulnerable children and families in Grey-Bruce.

“From the foundation's perspective, one of the biggest benefits to doing this is the ability to streamline the fundraising efforts and get as much money into the pockets of families that are in need,” he said in an interview following the announcement at the United Way office on 9th Street East.

“The United Way is very good in this business. They have very low overhead costs and their administrative costs are fantastic so it's really an opportunity to get as much money to the people of Grey and Bruce counties as we can so we can support them.”

The Our Kids foundation formed in 2012 after the Bruce and Grey children's aid societies amalgamated to become Bruce Grey Child & Family Services.

Before that, a Sunshine Fund raised money for children and families served by the Grey CAS, while the Children are Special Foundation fundraised for Bruce CAS clients.

The Our Kids foundation raised money through special events – like the Our Kids Amazing Race, held in 2015 and 2016 – as well as corporate donations and sponsorships, bequests and campaigns to support the roughly 400 children being served through the family services department at the agency.

The money was used to purchase winter clothing, register kids for swimming lessons, summer camp and minor sports, cover the cost of school activities, buy gifts or groceries during the holiday season and buy other items like cribs or baby gates.

The foundation also paid for tutoring and provided scholarships.

The United Way, meanwhile, oversees several programs that also help low-income families in Grey-Bruce, including utility assistance, backpack and winter coat drive programs.

The United Way says it has provided funding to the Our Kids foundation since its inception, including to support both the foundation's camp and winter programs.

Last year, for example, 251 children served by Bruce Grey Child & Family Services received a backpack from the United Way, 156 kids were able to attend summer camp thanks to United Way funding and 699 children received snowsuits and winter coats.

Representatives of the Our Kids foundation approached the United Way in the spring to discuss the possibility of a merger.

Nicol said the union is a “really good fit” since there is a lot of overlap between the people served by the Our Kids foundation and those helped by the United Way.

Nick Lovell, chair of the United Way board, said both organizations operate similar programs which attract the same donors in the community.

“We feel that rather than competing for the same donors, it makes more sense to allow the donors one spot to donate to all of those programs to benefit the community,” he said.

Nicol said Bruce Grey Child & Family Services will work with the United Way to ensure the families that were and would be served by the Our Kids foundation continue to be supported.

The merger means the Our Kids foundation will come to an end and their work will be conducted under the United Way's leadership.

A member of the Our Kids foundation board has joined the United Way board. The United Way will also be hiring another employee to raise funds for its programs.

People who make a donation to the local United Way can ask that their money be used to support the Hope for Kids fund, which will pay for things like those that used to be funded by the Our Kids foundation, such as cribs and car seats as well as summer camp and recreation program registration.

Francesca Dobbyn, executive director of the United Way of Bruce Grey, said the agency will assess the viability and impact of each of the fundraising events that were put on by the Our Kids foundation to determine if they will continue.

She noted that 15 per cent of donations to the United Way support the administrative costs associated with fundraising.